Citation

Kemper HCG, Verschuur R, Ritmeester JW. Pediatrician 1987; 14(4): 219-225.

Affiliation

Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, Karger Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3454006

Abstract

On the basis of measurement of biological age (BA) over a period of 4 years, late maturers (LM) were compared with early maturers (EM) in a teenage population of boys (n = 102) and girls (n = 133) with respect to height, maximal aerobic power (VO2max) and maximal isometric arm strength (Fmax). BA was estimated from X-ray photographs of the left hand and wrist and rated according to the Tanner-Whitehouse II method. Direct determination of VO2max was made during treadmill running at a constant speed (8 km/h) and increasing slope until complete exhaustion. Fmax was measured by an arm pull test with a dynamometer. Analysis of variance was used to test the effects of maturation (M), time of measurement (T) and interaction (T X M). The results show that (1) VO2max and Fmax in EMs and LMs increase proportionally with body height in boys and girls; (2) in the teenage years no significant differences in Fmax standardized for body mass can be demonstrated between EMs and LMs in boys or in girls, however, (3) VO2max standardized for body mass is significantly lower in EMs than in LMs. This can be explained by the higher percentage fat mass in EMs compared to LMs in boys and girls.

Language: en